The Size of Zheng He ship compared to Christopher Columbus
Well, if one day the world can unite and start space explorations, would’nt that be nice? It would stop over profiteering lately of claims of food shortages due to overpopulation of Man. Anyway, to continue from where I last stop…..
It is another one of those fresh spring mornings where you wake up and feel good, ready to take on the world which is what Grasshopper felt while having breakfast with his Master. They were on the second floor of the teahouse overlooking the big open Town square where hawkers were shouting out their wares and customers alike were bargaining loud over the colourful and assorted wares. Grasshopper has never seen this colourful scene even in the town where he occasionally visits on errands in the North which the folks were already tilling hard in the fields when the sun just starts to slumber out. There were smells of different exotic foods cooking in the air too, making one feel stimulated by the aroma together with the colourful sight. As such, Grasshopper felt he has the courage to ask his master of a perplexing matter.
Grasshopper: ‘Master, lately I am confused by the different opinions of the various masters who had met up with you.’
Master: ‘What about?’
Grasshopper: ‘The approaches they use for destiny and feng shui are all different from what you taught me and you seem to have agreed with them.’
Master: ‘You mean what I have taught you contradict with my actions….’
Grasshopper: ‘No, no, I dare not think of that.’
Master: ‘Okay, I know that you are confused by the different schools of thought on our arts.’
Grasshopper: ‘Yes master, especially the guy who uses just the hexagrams and had confused me with his jargons and had made me sleepless trying to figure out on what he was telling you.’
Master: ‘Mmm, have you not heard of the six blind men who came onto an elephant and each had felt the different part of the elephant and proclaiming each other correct in trying to describe the elephant as a snake, a pillar, a wall and so forth.’
Grasshopper: ‘Yes master but I don’t see what it has to do with this matter.’
Master: ‘Boy, boy, it is the same as with the different theories that you have come across here. Every one of us including myself at the moment only has a limited vision though not blind of which is somewhat of the elephant, the mysterious Xuan Kong.’
Grasshopper: ‘But master, in this case, knowing just a part of the elephant likewise will not suffice…’
Master: ‘As you can see, to one who can see the elephant, the blind men are each correct in their interpretations such as us. Therefore, do as what I have done, agreed with every one of them and learn something from them instead of arguing whose school is more superior.’
Grasshopper thinking to himself: ‘Ah, Master is wise, no wonder he always insists on meeting each of them individually instead. While they were busy denouncing the other schools of thoughts, they always give theirs away in trying to explain to Master and hoping to gain his support as Master is believed to have some relationship with the Imperial court who is compiling a great book of all the Arts.’ (From wikipedia: Yongle Emperor commissioned his Grand Secretary, Xie Jin, to write a compilation of every subject and every known book of the Chinese. The massive project's goal was to preserve Chinese culture and literature in writing. The initial copy took 17 months to transcribe and another copy was transcribed in 1557. The book, named the Yongle Encyclopedia, is still considered one of the most marvelous human achievements in history, despite it being gradually lost by time.)
Master: ‘Boy, I am not as mean as what you have made of my actions.’
Grasshopper thinking: ‘Oops! I forgot Master is not called the Divination God 神算among the masters for nothing.’
Grasshopper: ‘No Master, I was thinking that then I must learn to be more appropriate in my actions as what the Yi Jing have always stressed as humility leads to superiority.’
Master: ‘It is best that it be the way, boy. Anyway, the people have the wrong concept of the word 神算 which means it is divined by the mysterious and not that I am God.…’
Grasshopper by now even more astonished that his thoughts was well read by his master.
Master: ‘It is also another Elephant however this time to our great Emperor Zhu Di (Yongle) and the Admiral himself who really puts their efforts into feeling the whole elephant instead of the parts. That reminds me that I have to inform the Admiral household that I am staying in this Inn. Boy reminds me when we have finished our breakfast to task the Innkeeper with this errand.’
To be continued......
An exchange on a forum where a member had substantiated claims of:
‘Also Mindreader it appears that Menzies has been proved correct the results of
the radio-carbon tests show that :
New Zealand tests back Chinese ancient map claims
A New Zealand university's research has suggested a 243-year-old map indicating a famous Chinese explorer discovered New Zealand, Australia and America before Europeans is probably not a fake.
Waikato Times reported Saturday that Waikato University carbon- dating shows that "there might be something in a theory that the Chinese discovered New Zealand before Europeans."
Before Christmas, the university's carbon-dating unit was asked to analyze a Chinese map allegedly dating back to 1763 and stating that it was a copy of a 1418 map.
If authentic, the 1418 map by Chinese explorer Zheng He, which includes portrayals of America and Australia, was drawn 70 years before Christopher Columbus became the first European to land in America.’
Western histories record that Columbus found the New World in 1492, Portugal's Bartholomeu Diaz discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set off to circumnavigate the world in 1519.
While some people said Zheng He seemed to have discovered America 70 years before Columbus in 1492 if the controversial map drawn in 1763 by a Chinese cartographer is real.
The map could have an important influence on a re-evaluation of Chinese and Western maritime exploration.
The map was originally unveiled in Beijing on Jan. 16, attracting interest from across the globe. The owner, Liu Gang, a Chinese lawyer and map collector, said at the time that it was an authentic 1763 copy of a 1418 Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) original.
The original map has not been found, but if real, the 1763 copy could be proof that it existed. If so, it would give credence to the theory that Chinese sailors traversed the globe long before their European counterparts.
Deputy Director Fiona Petchey of Waikato University carbon- dating unit, who was entrusted to make tests of the map, said tests showed there was an 80 percent probability that the map's paper dated to either 1640-1690 or 1730-1810.
There was only a 13 percent chance it could date between 1920- 1960.
Liu Gang unveiled the results this week at a press conference in Beijing, according to news report.
He held that appearance of the map, the color of its ink, the age of its paper, the way in which it was painted and the style of calligraphy used by the cartographer verify that the year in which the map was created was the year of 1763 as noted by the cartographer on the map.
"The carbon dating result of Waikato University confirms that the map's paper was most probably produced during the period from 1730-1810 or 1640-1690, which is the right range for the year in which the map was created," said Liu.
Source: Xinhua’
Food for thoughts:
So by then, did the early Chinese geomancers know that there is a Southern Hemisphere with a different climate and that the world could be round? When did XKDG with its square and round arrangement came out?
Till-then, cheers.
